Champion 3500-Watt RV Ready Portable Generator Review
Versatility, power and convenience are yours with the Champion 3500.
Designed with safety and convenience in mind, the Champion 3500 is a mid-weight, fuel efficient and highly rated generator.
Though it’s classified as a recreational type of generator, with a major inclination towards RVing and camping, it’s also an ideal model for household tasks, and can double up as an emergency unit.
Features and Benefits
Design
Sporting a matte yellow top that perfectly blends with shiny black color, the Champion 3500 is a candy to the eye.
Beyond, aesthetics, the Champion 3500 comes with a dimension of 23.2 x 17.5 x 19.6 in. While the dimension puts it in the general range of most of the generators, but its slightly larger overall.
And when it comes to weight, the Champion comes with a modest weight of 140 pounds. Again, this will put the unit in range with most of the generators within its class, but this time round, it’s on the lower end, meaning it’s quite portable.
Engine/Performance
The Champion 3500 is powered by a robust 4-stroke 196cc Champion Single-Cylinder OHV engine.
This engine allows this unit to generate a surge output of 4000 watts and running the output of 3500 watts.
With such a power output, your powering options are expanded as this unit has enough juice to start and run most of your household appliances like the lighting system, air conditioner, sump pump refrigerator and more.
RV Ready
Remember what we mentioned at the beginning? The Champion 3500 is ideal for recreational use, and more particularly for RV use.
If you've used an RV for camping, you understand the last thing you would want to carry is the extra cables. In any case, trying to figure the best way of connecting a generator to your RV can also be a pain. It's this hassle and inconvenience that most RV owners would rather not do it.
Fortunately, with Champion 35000, you’ll not have to worry about connection problems. This is because this unit has been designed with the needs of RV users in mind.
Sporting a standard 30A RV outlet, you'll simply need to plug the outlet to your RV, and you're ready to go.
And given that the output generated by the Champion 3500 is sufficient to run your RV’s air conditioner .i.e. the output can comfortably power a 15,000 BTU RV air conditioner, this is one more reason why every RV users will appreciate the Champion 3500.
Cold Start Technology
The thought of being struck by cold, in the middle of nowhere is something that RV owners dread. This is because the presence of cold makes the engine oil thicker; inhibiting its flow and thus makes moving the engine parts a lot harder.
Unfortunately, a cold start is something that outdoor enthusiasts are subjected to when their generators fail to start.
With the Champion 3500, however, you'll be glad to know that this unit features a unique cold start technology. This is a proprietary technology that will allow the generator to work even in extremely cold conditions.
Fuel Efficiency
For such a powerful generator, I know you probably might be interested in knowing about its fuel efficiency.
Gladly, the Champion 3500 is among fuel-efficient generators in the market.
With a modest fuel tank of 3.8 gallons, the Champion 3500 will allow you to enjoy up to 12 hours of uninterrupted power at 50% load.
This generous runtime means this unit will provide you with power from dusk to dawn or even run you through a full-day event.
Noise Rating
A noisy generator would beat the purpose of outdoor adventure. In any case, most of the outdoor enthusiasts usually take trips and camp to enjoy the serenity and quietness of Mother Nature.
Fortunately, the Champion 3500 is one generator that will allow you to enjoy the outdoor scenery without any distraction.
With a noise rating of 68 decibels, the Champion is a definitely a quiet model. To give you an idea of what 68 decibels sound like, it’s similar to that of a normal vacuum cleaner or a conversation between people.
So, whether you plan to enjoy a read, meditate, or listen to the soothing sounds of the running books nearby, the Champion 3500 is a perfect choice.
Emergency Backup
Though we had mentioned the Champion 3500 is ideal for RV use, when not using it for your outdoor expeditions, you can use it as a source of backup power around your home.
Given that this unit comes with different types of outlets, the Champion is highly versatile, regarding its usage.
This unit, for instance, comes with two 120V 20A, making it ideal for use with your household outlets.
Ease of Use
When it comes to ease of use, the Champion has all the control functions conveniently located in a single place.
Additionally, the presence of electric remote control will allow you to run the generator wirelessly. With the press of a button, you can run everything on this generator without any manual input.
Safety
The Champion 3500 comes with a plethora of safety features, with the most striking one being the Volt Guard that will keep your power appliances safe from power surges and save you the need on consistently replacing your valuables.
Other safety features that are standard in other generators include a low oil shutoff, rugged steel frame construction and 49 State Compliant (EPA certified).
Drawbacks
For a generator that is primarily intended for outdoor use, we expected the presence of wheels to help in promoting portability.
Save for the absence of wheels; the Champion is one fine unit that has all the desirable properties you would wish to have in a generator.
- Read more: How Does an Electric Generator Work?
